Conventional resistance heaters used in vehicles include protection circuits and devices to prevent overheating and failures. Additionally, such resistance heaters commonly employ electronic temperature regulating controllers, such as thermostats, to set the output temperature of the heaters.
Many resistance heaters are preformed, stand-alone heaters made from materials and processes that render the heaters less conducive to post-manufacturing integration into components for vehicles. For example, some conventional heaters are made from inflexible and heat intolerant materials.
Conventional composite panels, particularly those with non-planar shapes, do not include an integrated heater. As another example, conventional resistance heaters are expensive and not conducive to integrating into or co-forming with composite or multi-ply panels. Furthermore, the temperature regulation and protection systems associated with conventional resistance heaters add to the weight, complexity, and cost of the heaters.